Report Finds CCOs Still Concerned About Liability; Increased Number Made Changes to Compliance Programs

A yearly report from law firm DLA Piper detailed the results of surveys distributed to corporate in-house counsel, compliance officers and board members of a range of firms to better understand how they function, what risks they face and how they are positioning themselves and their organizations to succeed. Overall, the study found that CCOs remain concerned about prosecutorial liability; a high percentage of compliance executives reported they had made changes to their compliance programs; and a majority felt that sufficient resources were being devoted to their firms’ compliance functions. Among the study’s specific findings:

In 2017, 67 percent of the CCOs surveyed said they were at least somewhat concerned about their personal liability and that of their CEOs, down from 81 percent in 2016.

71 percent of CCOs said they made changes to their compliance programs based on recent regulatory events – up from 21 percent in 2016.

In 2017, 84 percent of compliance executives reported that they had sufficient resources, clout and board access to support their ability to effectively perform their jobs, up from 77% in 2016.

44 percent of director respondents surveyed said they had not received any training on compliance issues

CCOs’ primary concerns – data security and privacy, cybersecurity and regulatory risk – have not changed much since last year.

46 percent of respondents chose monitoring as the weakest part of their compliance program.

The survey was conducted in the first quarter of 2017 and included responses from 137 individuals.